"What exactly do you mean by drastic?"
The Emperor was staring into nothingness, his eyes almost glazing over as he responded with a coldness that Jin Wang hadn't seen before.
"I mean something so immensely significant, so far-reaching and long-lasting that the lives of everyone in the greater worlds are forever changed. Something that forces them to make decisions they would never have otherwise. That is the only hope I have left of making any meaningful change."
Jin Wang knew exactly what the Emperor meant but he still needed to hear it from his own mouth. Because if it was something this big then there would definitely be a great loss of life regardless of the method.
"Is there no other way?" he asked again, hoping there was something else up his sleeve.
The emperor's gaze slowly shifted over to Jin Wang. He let out a hollow sigh upon seeing a tinge of hope still burning inside him.
He then leaned forward and took out his lifeless left arm from the robe, placing it on the arm of the chair.
"I have tried the other ways. I have done everything that was possible and a great many things that weren't. But no matter what, the powers that be do not appreciate change."
"From the Sovereign to Eldwine, I have tried to create a new axis of power and pried my way into the old ones, but it proved to be a futile attempt and never changed anything in the long term regardless of the method."
Jin Wang jumped to his feet and strode towards the Emperor, bending down to inspect his arm that looked like it was covered in a layer of soot.
"I have never seen a curse of this magnitude," he commented after an initial examination, "Who did this to you?"
"On the surface, it was done by Maymūn."
"Maymūn?! He-It moved against you? Itself?!"
The Emperor nodded.
Jin Wang pulled back his hand, sucking the air from in between his teeth. He couldn't bring himself to believe the words that were coming out of the Emperor's mouth, "But…why? He is one of the Great Old Ones, why would he move against you?"
The emperor raised his chin proudly, "Because I was close to achieving something and he, no, THEY couldn't allow it."
He had reason to be proud. To make an ancient Demonic God-level entity that had existed since time immemorial personally make a move, how many people could claim to have achieved such a feat? To have posed enough of a threat to warrant its involvement?
"They turned my own sons against me, the most loyal of my soldiers. I had to tear a galaxy in half to temporarily halt their advancement, that was the only way to pause their plans without killing them completely."
Upon hearing that Jin Wang quickly realized there was nothing he could do. Even as an Eighth Circle Grand Mage he could not possibly break a curse that powerful, at least not in any short amount of time.
Not to mention participating in a battle of such a magnitude that tears entire galaxies in half. So he sat back down again, allowing the Emperor to continue his explanation.
"Although the curse is too powerful to tamper with right now, it can be cracked with enough time and effort. And since Maymūn paid a hefty price for coming that close to me, I would call it a good trade," he thought out loud with a hearty laugh.
But Jin Wang didn't completely agree with him. Curses were naturally terrible and had extremely diverse uses. Some might 'seem' simple but held a great many secrets that would only show themselves at a later time.
There was no telling what a curse could do unless the one who cast it chose to relinquish that information.
The Emperor continued.
"But this has only proven my point. Something needs to change otherwise we will continue to be their pawns, nothing more than cannon fodder in 'their' wars, used to commit terrible deeds on ourselves and others in their names and then be discarded in the end when the tides of the Abyss roll forward. There is no other choice now."
Jin Wang didn't speak up. He had lived long and seen more than enough of his share of brutalities. And although sometimes he didn't agree with the Emperor's methods, there was no arguing that the balance of power needed to be shifted if not completely overturned.
"What do you have in mind?" he asked after a short moment of contemplation.
The Emperor met his gaze, somber as he could be. He tapped his foot twice on the rocky floor, "Give me that thing you have locked up in the cellar. The one you found in the 'deep'."
Jin Wang's pupils shrunk to the size of pinholes. He shot up to his feet, bobbing his head from side to side.
"Absolutely not! If it gets out there is no telling what could happen!"
The emperor's lips arched into a wicked smile, "Exactly."
"No. I refuse. I can't allow that. That thing has no limits. It consumes everything without distinction-"
The emperor's fist slammed against the chair's arm, making the entire tower shake.
"That's exactly my point. It does not and will not discriminate. To it, we are all the same. There is no negotiating with it, there is no taking sides. We NEED a common enemy, that is the only way. The turmoil created in its wake will be perfect for us. It will create a power vacuum and I will fill it."
His words made Jin Wang quiet down for a moment.
"You don't understand. It is a disease of the flesh and mind. Its hunger is bottomless and if it were to ever see the light of day, a flood the likes of which we have never witnessed would be unleashed on all of creation."
Despite his warnings, the emperor could see he was considering it so he pushed again.
"Listen to me. With your help, we can do it with minimal loss. If you agree, I will help you reincarnate into one of the Origin worlds. I know exactly what is going to happen during that time period and with your help and oversight, it can be done quickly and safely."
And as expected, Jin Wang took the bait.
"How?" his curiosity got the better of him.
"Once you are born, around the time you turn twenty a discovery will be made. A wandering world perfect for the taking. But it will be the prison that will hold that 'thing' until you get there. You will have to get on that world using whatever means necessary and make sure three individuals whose names I will give to you come into contact with it no matter what. These three work for 'them' and will take that thing directly back to their nests."
"Once the word of it gets out and the infection spreads, they will be isolated by the others and either completely wiped off or if they do decide to fight back, which they most probably will, a new war will begin."
Jin Wang shook his head dejectedly, "That is your plan? To start another war? Are you still not tired of fighting?"
The Emperor smirked, "The war will come either way. I have seen it. The Abyssal Lords are stirring once again. Sooner or later they will awake, only this way the war can be put out in its infancy before it spreads to the rest of the planes. Trust me, this is the only and the least bloody path.. I will make sure that it doesn't spread beyond our foe's borders."
